As I write, stocks are selling off for the sixth day in a row. That’s resulted in a 2.4% decline for the S&P 500 Index in May. And we’re only seven trading days into the month!

Remember, this performance comes on the heels of one of the strongest starts to a year in decades for stocks. From January through April, the S&P 500 leapt 9.2%.

Against such a backdrop, it’s easy to understand why many investors are now tempted to follow the market wisdom to “sell in May and go away.”

But don’t do it! Here are five reasons why…

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

When you see a chart like this one from U.S. Global Investors, I’ll admit it’s hard not to give into the temptation to bail on stocks right now. It shows the monthly performance for the S&P 500 since 1998, as well as the frequency of positive returns.

Based on Ibbotson data from 1926 forward, Motley Fool editor, Alex Demortier, found that simply buying and holding onto stocks is our best bet.

And what happens if we factor in our biggest expense, taxes?

Northern Trust’s (Nasdaq: NTRS) research, which goes back to 1945, proved a sell in May strategy couldn’t hold a candle to simply buying and holding.

So don’t be duped. Selling in May and going away is not all it’s cracked up to be. Especially this year…

Don’t Get Out of Stocks When Americans Get Out to Vote

I know it’s dangerous to say, “It’s going to be different this time.” But it is going to be different this May through October for the simple fact that we’re in a presidential election year.

Reason #3: During election years, studies show the summer swoon doesn’t materialize. Instead, the markets tend to rally the most in the summer months of June, July and August.

Government conspiracy theorists can appreciate this tendency, too. It would be terrible for either political party’s nominee to have markets crater leading up to an election. So politicians are bound to pull out all the stops to prop up the markets in 2012.

Beyond this presidential election year phenomenon, there are other reasons to stay invested despite the recent selloff.

Reason #4: Like Wall Street’s extreme bearishness…

According to Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) U.S. equity strategy team, strategists are now “extremely bearish” and underweighting equities. The latest reading of the firm’s proprietary Sell Side Indicator is more than one percentage point below the extreme bearishness level of 55.6%.

In my book, that qualifies as a contrarian reason to be bullish on stocks. Especially since the last time strategists were this bearish, stocks surged.

Despite Chief Executive of 2100 Xenon Group, Jay Feuerstein’s, insistence that “there are many investors willing to put money to work on dips,” the data doesn’t back him up.

According to the Investment Company Institute, retail investors have yanked more than $260 billion out of stock mutual funds since the end of 2008. In contrast, they’ve plowed $800 billion into bond funds, which yield next to nothing.

Given all the bearishness and mistrust, now strikes me as the perfect time to remember one of Warren Buffett’s classic rules: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

Bottom line: When you factor in trading commissions, taxes, presidential elections, analyst sentiment and investor behavior, selling in May and going away promises to be a losing strategy in 2012. No matter how poorly stocks have performed over the last week.

Donald Trump ran a campaign on hyperbole and vagueness. Now as he prepares to take office, we take a closer look at his contradictory statements on science to make sense of the future of our favored industries.

It’s easy to dismiss celebrities and politicians as having hidden agendas. On the other hand, scientists that uncover cold, hard facts, deserve our respect for their endeavors. But respect is not worship.